Howard's little man
by Phoenix on cloud nine
Summary: Vince eats a jelly out of the fridge that was made using water from the fountain of youth. Cuteness ensues.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Not sure why I decided to write this, but I did :p  
****Please don't hate me if it sucks!  
****Disclaimer: Not mine! Fielding and Barret's!**

"OW!"

Howard leapt up as he heard Vince shriek in pain. He had heard the back door open so he guessed that his friend was out there.

"Vince?"

Howard walked out of the shop and into the alleyway out the back that used to have a crack fox living in it.

"Vince?" He saw the electro boy slumped down a wall, crying gently and rubbing his arm, "Hey, whats wrong little man?"

Vince looked up and attempted a smile through his tears.

"I don't know w-why I'm even crying," He looked up at Howard and smiled again, sniffing as he spoke, "All I did was b-bang my arm off the w-wall and it just hurts"

At this he suddenly burst into noisy sobs. Howard didn't have a clue what to do. The only thing that would make Vince cry as much as this (Concerning his arm at least) is if it was broken, and he was in agony.

"C'mon, I'll have a look at it inside"

Vince gave him a watery smile before sniff and rubbing at his eyes, trying to stop the tears falling and not even caring about smudging his eye make-up.

They went inside and Howard carefully rolled up the sleeve of Vince's top to look at his arm. From what he could see, apart from a small graze, it was fine.

"Ok Vince, enough with the tears, its fine".

Vince looked at him and smiled. A proper, sincere smile.

"Thanks Howard"

"No problem" said Howard, feeling a bit wary, Vince never made this much fuss.

--

A couple of days later Howard was moving some of his jazz collection around, and found Vince sat right in front of the cupboard a bored expression on his face.

"Move it Vince, I need to put my records away"

Vince just sat there and looked for all the world like a sulking 5 year old. Howard sighed; he just wasn't in the mood for this.

"Ok you little tit box, move it. Now!"

Vince sprang up and looked straight into Howard's eyes, his own shining with tears that were threatening to fall any minute

"Vince? Don't be like that"

But Vince had already run up the stairs to the bedroom they shared. Shaking his head, Howard turned to follow, but was stopped by a turban in his face.

"Howard you ballbag, what have you done? Vince is in tears in your room"

"Look Naboo, I didn't do anything! I don't know, he's been way more sensitive these last couple of days. Like on Monday, he grazed his arm and cried about it for ages!"

Naboo looked horrified

"Have you seen him eat anything out of the fridge that looked like jelly?"

"Erm, this is a bizarre twist in conversation, but yeah, he said he likes strawberry jelly"

"Oh no! That wasn't jelly! It was made using the water from the fountain of youth! The only good thing about this is that I didn't put in enough to make him revert completely"

Howard was trying to soak all of this in.

"So, how exactly will he revert?" Naboo smiled slightly

"He's gonna act like a three or four year old until we find an antidote"

"And how long is that going to take?" Howard was desperate and clutching at his hair.

"Well, me and Bollo will go to see the shaman council, you can look after him"

"Look after him? Naboo, I don't know anything about toddlers, let alone grown men who act toddlers!"

Naboo looked at him and talked rather slowly, as if talking to an idiot

"Well, the least you can do is go and apologise for shouting at him. He's probably cried himself to sleep!"

"Naboo, its 1 in the afternoon!"

"Yeah? 3 year olds get tired quicker! Have fun!"

And before Howard could say another word, Naboo was off, taking Bollo and his magic carpet and leaving him with a 3 year old Vince, who right now was probably curled up in a ball crying. Howard's heart tore just by thinking about it.

Howard sighed as he walked slowly up the stairs to their bedroom. His feet dragged against every step as he tried to take in what he had just been told. He tried not to panic. Naboo will be back in no time with the antidote, he was sure of it. Finally coming to a stop outside the room, Howard put his ear to the door for a second and heard the distinct snuffling of someone crying into their arms, so that no-one could hear them. Howard knocked on the door and murmured

"Hey little man, I'm coming in"

He had a sharp intake of breath but opened the door, slowly, so he didn't exacerbate things. He almost cried at the sight that awaited him. Vince was curled up on his (Howard's) bed, wiping his eyes and nose on the duvet. His eyes were red and puffy and it was obvious he had been crying.

Abandoning his 'no touch' rule, Howard made his way towards Vince and attempted to sit next to him and hug him, but when he went to hug him, the younger man flinched away.

Howard's heart almost snapped in two.

"Hey Vince, c'mon it's me. I'm sorry I yelled at you ok? I didn't think it would bother you that much" Vince sobbed a little more and said,

"I'm sorry Howard! I don't know why I've been crying 'n all this stuff so much! I wouldn't normally bother about you callin' me that stuff! I don't know what's goin' on! I'm…scared"

Howard gathered him up and gave him a comforting hug, which Vince immediately leant into.

"Don't worry; Naboo's worked out why you're acting like this!" Vince cocked his head and looked up at Howard with big baby blues that were alight with curiosity and a bit of worry.

"Remember when you ate that jelly in the fridge?"

Vince looked to be on the verge of a crimp, but Howard stopped him, and said

"It wasn't really jelly! It was made using that water from the fountain of youth! You're going to act like a 3 year old until Naboo comes back with the antidote!" Vince was gobsmacked. He looked at Howard with his mouth gaping open.

"Oh…"

Howard noticed that Vince was currently struggling to keep his eyes open. He was snuggling deeper into Howard and his breathing was evening out. Howard found himself rocking him slightly, and making soothing noises in his ear. In a few minutes he was asleep and…Howard's eyebrows shot up through his hairline. Vince's thumb was making it's way towards it's owner's mouth. He smiled at his friend and carried him over to his own bed, took off his boots and pulled the covers over him. He stayed to watch for a minute before shaking his head fondly and walking downstairs.

**Don't know when the next chapters coming. Tell me if it sucks by way of review- you just need to press the button :p I hope y'all like it :) Btw, if anybodies got any requests for future chaps, just add it in your review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! Sorry this took so long! Hopefully everyone likes it! Thanks to Stars of Andromeda for picking up a tiny mistake in the first chapter :)  
Disclaimer: See the last chapter's disclaimer **

At about 6 in the evening, Howard decided it was time to check on Vince. He crept down the corridor and opened the door gently. To his surprise, Vince was awake, but he was curled up on Howard's bed again.

"Hey little man, you awake?"

_Stupid question…_

Vince nodded morosely, staring down at the duvet and fiddling with the worn down corner of it.

"What?" Howard asked, feeling slightly concerned.

"I just, feel kinda...well, stupid" Vince mumbled half to Howard and half to the duvet. Howard was genuinely shocked. Vince wasn't exactly the brightest trumpet reed **(A/N I was thinking of saxophones, I don't know whether or not trumpets have reeds) **but he wouldn't call him _stupid_. Anyway, Vince never felt he was stupid. Especially in these circumstances, 3 year olds don't feel stupid do they?

"Er, why?"

"'Cause I ate that jelly, 'cause I'm acting like this, 'cause you rocked me to sleep..."

"Vince there is no reason for you to feel stupid ok? Just... wait, you shouldn't feel stupid about that stuff at all, 3 year olds don't"

Vince looked down, slightly pink in the face,

"Well, I just don't want you to laugh at me, so I'm trying not to do all this stuff that I actually want to...". Howard was wide eyed and thinking hard. Was Vince resisting whatever power that jelly had in it? He obviously wasn't a shaman, but he didn't think that was a good thing. As well as that, he was a bit touched that Vince cared what he thought of him. His eyes going back to normal (For him) size, he went, again, to sit on the bed next to Vince and put his arms around the younger man.

"Look Vince, I would never laugh at something like this, I mean, you can't help it can you? And plus, just relax and do the things you want, I don't think it's safe to resist it"

Vince looked up at Howard, smiling and his eyes bigger and bluer than ever before. Howard had to smile back, and said,

"Well, do you want some tea? It's," Howard had a quick look at his watch, "Quarter past six" He finished.

Vince nodded and asked, in quite a childish voice, (_At least he isn't resisting it_ Howard thought) "What is there?"

Howard thought for a moment before answering, "Actually, I don't think we have that much, I can make you a sandwich, or cheese on toast?" Vince grinned and nodded his head so much Howard thought it might fall off.

"Right, come on then, you can grate some cheese if you want" Howard marvelled at how bright Vince's eyes were when he smiled. Howard walked out of the room and signalled for his younger friend to follow. He was surprised when Vince crept next to him shyly and clutched at his hand as they walked to the kitchen.

"Howard, can I put the cheese on it? Please!?"

Howard chuckled at how excited Vince sounded at the thought of something as simple as making cheese on toast. _Well_ he thought wryly _he is like that normally, maybe this won't be that difficult_.

About fifteen minutes later, they were both tucking into huge slices of cheese on toast (Well, more like toast on cheese, as Vince went overboard on grating). Howard was examining the way Vince was trying to cut his slice up, inwardly laughing at the crumbs flying everywhere. He stopped as soon as Vince looked over, looking slightly guilty, but pleading. Howard immediately responded and cut the slices up into strips with his knife and fork. Vince beamed at him and set to work.

--

They were both sat on the sofa later, Howard putting on an old disney video. He watched Vince giggle at some parts in it and thought that he could probably manage this. Vince was like this normally. Just a little more childlike. He would be fine.

The video finished and Vince looked over at Howard.

"Hoowwaaarrdddd..." The man in question rolled his eyes and looked over. Vince smiled at him manipulatively. "Can we play hide 'n seek?"

Howard laughed a little, but quickly stopped as Vince was looking at him with hurt in his eyes.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" Howard cursed himself silently

"No little man, it's just..." He looked around, trying to find a reason for the laughter, but caught sight of the clock

"It's half eight Vince, I think you should go to bed" He rolled his eyes as his friend furrowed his eyebrows

"But I'm not tired!" He half yelled. As soon as he said that a sly yawn found it's way out of his mouth. He looked betrayed and instantly closed his mouth.

"Of course not," Howard sighed, there was no other way. He would have to use bribery. "Tell you what, if you go to bed now, tommorrow, I'll get a cake or something for lunch, ok?"

Vince grinned for what seemed the hundredth time that night. "Ok" he simply said happily, and insisted on holding Howard's hand down to the room. He didn't mind in the least that Howard was in the room while he was getting his pyjamas on. However, Howard minded a bit and busied himself with sorting and resorting his duvet cover.

"Finished!" Vince laughed triumphantly, and Howard turned to find him stood there, forever smiling, waiting for the next instruction.

"Well done," Howard praised him, making the younger man glow, "Ok, get into bed, and I'll see you in the morning". He turned to go, but heard a small,

"Ohh...". He turned back again to see Vince sat in his bed with an odd look on his face.

"Are you ok Vince?" Howard asked, losing patience a tiny bit.

"There isn't a nightlight". Howard's eyes made the shape of a normal person's, all of his impatience and slight anger vanishing.

"Well, erm...no there isn't. Ok, as well as cake, tommorrow we'll buy a nightlight. In the mean time, I'll leave the door open and keep the light in the hall on, ok?"

Vince gave a small smile and nodded again. But before Howard even had a chance to turn around this time, he blurted out,

"Will you read me a story?". Howard smiled. Vince like this was just so cute. He agreed, but remembered that Vince didn't even have any books, and the only ones he had were about jazz, and he was sure, even as a three year old, Vince wouldn't like that.

"Actually Vince, we don't have any good stories, so how about we buy one of them as well?"

Vince was too tired to argue or add anything this time, so he just smiled and lay down. True to his word, Howard left the room, but kept the door open slightly open, with the corridor light on.

With nothing else to do, he decided to call Naboo and ask him how it was going. The phone rang for quite a while, and just as Howard was about to hang up, Naboo answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Naboo, it's Howard, have you found it yet?"

"Er, yeah, bit of a problem.." Howard's heart plummeted but he tried to sound casual.

"What's wrong? You can still get it can't you?"

"Yeah, but it has to be made at a specific time in a specific place on Xooberon"

"What are these specific times?"

"Next time I can make it is in a week"

"A week?! Naboo, didn't you have some from when we drank some of the water?"

"Yeah but I had to use all of it, you jerk-off". Howard exhaled tiredly and replied,

"Fine, just hurry back here will you?"

"Look I'll try, but it might take a while to find the right ingredients. By the way, how is Vince?"

"He's fine, he's in bed"

"Right well I'll see you later then"

Naboo put the phone down and Howard sat down on the sofa. It didn't really matter, did it? He survived tonight, he could surely survive a week. It's not as if he had any plans was it? He sat on the sofa, wrapped in his own thoughts until half eleven, when he deemed it safe to go into the bedroom without waking his friend. Said friend was curled up under the duvet, just his hair showing over the top of it. Howard got into bed and was about to close the door, but remembered Vince's fears. He sighed and left it open. He couldn't stand light in the room while he was trying to sleep.

This was going to be a long night.

**Woop! I did it! Please review! Sorry if you don't think it was worth waiting for :s  
There we have it, a week with little Vince :) If you have any ideas of what you think should go in that week, message me or add it in your review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Thanks for all the reviews and ideas for future chapters! I love you all ;) Mwah!  
Disclaimer: I'm way too tired to come up with something funny, so I'll just say that it isn't mine! Neither is the great book 'Peace at Last'  
****Onto the story...**

Howard opened his eyes to find himself nose-to-nose with a man who looked like he didn't have a care in the world. He smiled as Vince realised he was awake and started grinning at him.

"Hiya Howard!" He trilled, looking very pleased with himself.

"Morning little man," Howard said back, smiling at the irony of this nickname, "What are you so happy about?". Vince gave him a wide grin and stated very happily,

"I drew you a picture!". Howard couldn't help it. Vince was looking so happy with himself, and the cuteness of this statement mixed with that gave him a good excuse to just wrap his arms around the younger man and give him a warm hug. Vince immediately fell into it, and started giggling when Howard started running his fingers through his friend's hair.

"Ok then, where is it?" Vince's award winning smile leapt onto his face as he jumped off the bed and ran out of the room for a second. Howard had little time to marvel at the drastic change in his behaviour, when he came bounding back into the room, clutching a piece of paper. A very _glittery_ piece of paper. Howard found it being shoved into his hands as Vince announced,

"It's you! Do you like it?" Howard stared at it. It had a stick man in the centre of the page coloured in with bright felt tips. Then the rest of the page was simply thick with glue and glitter.

"Where did you make it?" Howard asked, scared of the thought of glitter all over the sofa, or table. Vince saw the look on his face, and quickly said,

"It was on the table, but I had loads of other paper around it! Then you still weren't awake, so I made you some tea!" Vince looked at his friend's face, hoping to be praised for his kindly actions, but got a look that was half-way between horrified and amused. "What?" Vince asked, scared he was going to be shouted at.

"Erm, nothing, it's just, you don't touch the kettle if I'm not there ok?" Vince looked surprised and then his face clicked instantly to confused.

"I didn't touch the kettle!" Howard was bemused as he asked just how Vince _had_ made the tea.

"I'll give it to you!" Again he was off out the door, and instantly came back with a cup of what looked like milk with a tea bag stuck in it.

Howard couldn't help laughing as he set the cup down on his little bedside table. He looked up to see Vince watching him anxiously. Smiling Howard said,

"I'll drink it later. Come on, let me get out of bed, and we can go into town to get those bits and bobs I promised you". His younger friend beamed and nodded, jumping back off the bed and opened the door of his wardrobe.

"Do I need a coat Howard? Is it cold?" Vince was giving Howard a completely trusting look as he asked his opinion on jacket.

"Yeah Vince, it'll probably be very cold. And don't wear anything stupid ok? Just jeans and a t-shirt right?" Vince nodded, obviously a bit confused. Howard cursed himself again, as he realised that 3 year old Vince probably never wore jumpsuits or mirror ball suits.

--

Just half an hour later, they were both ready to go out. Vince was preening as he had managed to dress himself in a way that Howard approved, in just plain drainpipes and a bright blue t-shirt. He had also grabbed a coat which was actually pretty warm, but after taking another glance outside, Howard stuck a hat on his head and a scarf around his neck. They set off out to the car, Vince bundled up in anything warm Howard could find.  
Driving into town, Howard gave himself a strict set of rules to follow. Only buy what you came here to buy, Don't get distracted by any jazz shops and DON'T let yourself be won over by Vince and allow him to get anything that catches his eye.

As he pulled into a parking space, Howard was already doubting bringing Vince into town in this state. It was very possible to bump into girls who know him and probably fancy him. Then there was the fact that he would undoubtedly try and get Howard to buy something. When he refuses, would he throw a tantrum? All of these thoughts were running through his head the whole time he parked the car, got a parking ticket and stewarded Vince out of it. Right, a little bribery was in order.

"Ok Vince, can you remember what we need?" Vince looked up at him and smiled

"Yeah! Cake, a nightlight and, umm...Oh! A story! You promised!" Howard grinned at him.

"I did promise, you're right. But Vince, we are only going to get these things. Nothing else ok?" Vince nodded meekly, and Howard decided not to bribe him as he had just agreed.

"Right, come on then" He walked briskly and Vince was having a hard time keeping up.

"Howard! Wait!". The older man turned to find Vince looking like a 3 year old in the way that he was slipping a bit on the ice on the pavement, and the scarf and various hats/gloves that Howard stuck on him were all fairly big, so he looked like he was playing dress-up. Howard sighed, his breath coming out in white, foggy patches in the cold air, and stopped. Vince smiled as he caught up, but just as he got up to Howard, a huge piece of ice was in his way, making him slip so much he almost fell over. He reached out and grabbed Howard's hand in an attempt to stay vertical, but when he straightened, he didn't let go, and waited for his friend to lead to the way to the shops. Howard rolled his eyes, but he in turn didn't let go of Vince's hand, as he set off, trying to steer away from any large patches of ice.

--

They got into a huge shopping centre, which was fairly crowded, and made their way towards Waterstones. Once inside, Howard tried to make a very discreet way over to the children's books and have Vince quietly choose the one he wanted. This didn't happen. They managed over there ok, but once near the rows of colourful books, he was rather loud, nearly shouting,

_"Howard! Look at this one!"  
"Or this?"_

Howard shook his head and went over to Vince. He put his hand on his arm as he realised they were getting funny looks off people.

"Vince, just choose one, or no cake" Vince pouted, but scanned the bookshelves and found a book with a picture of some bears on the front. He picked it up and showed it to Howard with a smile on his face.

"'Peace at Last'" Howard read the title. Had he been read this by his parents? It sounded familiar. "Ok then Vince, are sure you want that one?" His friend nodded some more, so he went to the desk and paid.

--

The other shopping passed without any incident, apart from Vince wanting a huge multicoloured nightlight, and an even bigger chocolate cake. When refused that, he looked on the verge of a major tantrum, until Howard gave in and said he could have an ice cream in the park if he behaved. Vince shut up quickly, and as soon as they were in the park, he demanded his ice cream.

"Can it have sprinkles Howard?! And a flake!?" Howard pulled him over to an ice cream van and had a quick glance at the choices.

"Sorry little man, it's a plain vanilla or nothing". Vince's spirits dampened a bit, but he agreed, and was soon licking his way through a huge 99. Howard declined an ice cream, as he was having trouble juggling the shopping bags in one hand, and clutching the sticky hand of someone who somehow managed to get the ice cream _everywhere _in the other. How he managed it was a mystery, but Howard ignored the glances of onlookers and pulled Vince back to the car. As they both strapped themselves in, Howard looked over once more, and decided that, as soon as they got back to the flat, he would have to run a bath. It was against his better judgement that he also decided to sit in the bathroom with him, because god knows what would happen if he didn't. Since Vince was on a considerable sugar high, there would no doubt be bubbles all over the room. He sighed, thinking that if Naboo didn't come back soon, he would have to kill him.

**I think it's pretty good how fast this was updated :) Please review, also with the other chapters, if you have any ideas, don't hesitate to put them in it. Also, sorry if I ran through it a bit, but I was in the mood for writing now, and might not be in like, 5 minutes :p**


	4. Chapter 4

**Again, thanking youse for the lovely reviews :)  
Disclaimer: Don't own! If I did, this would already have happened. Plus, I don't own the amazing book 'Peace at Last'. Seriously, it's a real book. Look it up :)  
Hope y'all like it...**

They got back to the flat, with Vince trying and failing to pet a stray cat that crossed their path, and went through the front door, into the shop. As they both tramped through, (Well Howard tramped, Vince bounded) Howard found a parcel on the countertop.

"Wait a second Vince, and don't touch anything!". Vince surprisingly obeyed and halted in his wanderings, looking over at Howard curiously. Howard walked up to the package and found a note attached to the top.

_Howard,__  
__Me and Bollo are going to Xooberon, so we won't be back until we get the antidote, but we thought that you probably wouldn't have much to keep Vince entertained until then. So Bollo found some old toys, jigsaws etc, in the attic. Have fun!__  
__N._

Howard clicked his tongue against his teeth in frustration. Still, he had things to keep Vince quiet for a couple of hours, so he was rather grateful for that. He picked up the box and found Vince, entranced, starting at a picture that looked to be blank. Raising an eyebrow, he wandered over to where his friend stood, and saw what Naboo described as a 'Mind-reading picture'. He remembered him saying it was straight from his home planet, and it would show you anything you wanted. What Vince wanted was probably pretty good, as the picture was holding his attention for a good while. Howard nudged him a bit,

"Come on little man, Naboo's left some games for you, let's go upstairs, it'll be warmer up there" Vince gazed up at him, ice cream still all over him. Howard gently prised **(A/N Can you 'gently' prise something?) **his friends sticky fingers off the picture, making Vince whine.

"But Howwaarddd! Look at all the colours! It's so pretty!" Howard shook his head and simply motioned upstairs with his free fingers.

--

It wasn't until they were upstairs that Howard could put down the various bags and packages he was having to hold. Vince stood in the middle of the room, looking rather lost as he waited for Howard to do something.

"Ok little man, you look through that parcel there, and I'll just be in the bathroom" He didn't bother saying he was running a bath, as he was sure the 'three year old' would protest. Vince nodded and set to work opening the parcel.

Howard walked into the bathroom, wondering what would be the best way to do this. Vince wouldn't be the least bit phased if the other man was in there, but Howard wasn't exactly comfortable watching his best friend bathe. He started running various taps (Naboo had installed many different 'shaman' taps, that gave off interesting bubbles and stuff). He decided that if he had to see Vince in a bath, he could at least be covered up by bubbles.

When it was done (Howard had even tested it with his elbow, just to make sure Vince wouldn't get burnt) he went to get Vince. He stopped dead at the sight that awaited him. The younger man was sat on the floor with a jigsaw out in front of him, his legs splayed out either side of it. He was trying desperately to fit the pieces together, and sometimes stopped and huffed a bit as he got more frustrated. Deciding to intervene, Howard stepped through and saw Vince nearly crying in frustration as the two pieces he was _sure _fit together went bouncing across the floor.

"Hey easy little man, it just takes practice, that's all" Vince looked up, saw him, and smiled. He was sure Howard would be able to do it. He trusted him more than anyone else in the world.

"Will you help me Howard?"

"Maybe later Vince," He saw Vince deflate and said quickly, "But I have something better for you in the bathroom" Vince smiled and got up to follow him.

_God that sounded like a really bad chat-up line _Howard thought _Thank God he's so naive at this minute, I'd be teased for years_

"What is it?" Howard smiled at Vince. His voice had taken on a really child-like quality, even more than normal. He was so cute, Howard couldn't help but tell the truth.

"It's a bath, since you managed to spill ice cream everywhere" He was amused at the way Vince's face went from happy to incredibly angry in less than a second.

"Nooo! I don't want a bath!" Vince went into full bratty temper tantrum mode, all because of the word bath, "You can't make me!" He turned to run away from Howard, who quickly ran after him and caught him extremely easily. He pulled the squealing man towards him and began to tickle him mirthlessly, only pausing when it sounded like Vince couldn't breathe at all. He still had the sticky man attached to him, so he pulled away from him. The result being Vince looking at him with a crestfallen expression on his face, like he had really been enjoying himself.

"Sorry little man, but I can't have ice cream all over me can I? Now if you were to have your bath, you might get tickled some more _and_ you might even get a hug..." Vince's eyes lit up as he scurried towards the bathroom, looking back every so often to make sure Howard was coming.

Howard managed to keep himself busy as Vince stripped off and got into the bath. When he was in, he looked around at all the bubbles and grinned at Howard. He started blowing the bubbles about and giggling childishly as Howard actually consented to blow some himself, then proceeded to look like Santa with all of the white foam around his face. Howard let him play for about fifteen minutes then said,

"Ok Vince, time to actually wash now, try to get all of the ice cream off yourself"

"Then will you help me with the jigsaw? And do I get a hug?" Howard rolled his eyes playfully and agreed, trying to sound grudging, but not sure he actually achieved that. Vince beamed at him, and set to work scrubbing away at his skin. Howard got up and told his friend he's be back in a minute, and wandered into the bedroom. He couldn't decide whether to put Vince in clean clothes, or just bung him in his pyjamas, as they weren't going out again, and it was already, nearing two. Not late at all, but he managed to sleep early yesterday. Deciding on the pyjamas, he picked them up and made his way back to Vince.

--

Getting Vince into his pyjamas had been a challenge, as Howard had to keep telling him he _wasn't _going to bed, he was just being put into the most comfortable clothes. The rest of the evening passed without much excitement. Howard helped Vince make his jigsaw, and got a squeal and arms thrown around his neck when it was done. He then managed to get cake all over his face, resulting him in being attacked with a washcloth by his friend. It was getting closer to evening as Howard was scrubbing down the table (They'd had spaghetti and Vince had made a bit of a mess) when the younger man walked up to Howard clutching a book. Howard felt a tug on his elbow as he turned to see a smiling man holding out "Peace at last" and giving him his best puppy dog eyes.

--

"_Mr Bear was tired, Mrs Bear was tired, and Baby Bear was tired. So they all went to bed..." _Howard began, remembering the story from having it read to him when he was a child. He decided to sit on the sofa reading it, as sitting on the beds might have started another tantrum, with Vince thinking he was going to bed. When Howard sat down, he expected Vince to squash up beside, so he could see the pictures, but to his surprise, the other man climbed on top of Howard and looked up at him with a mixture of adoration and impatience.

"Come on!! What happened then?"

Howard smiled at him and continued. He was reading the very end pages when he realised that the man on his lap was breathing heavily and his head was slipping down so it was almost resting on his chest. Howard closed the book, skillfully picked Vince up without waking him and walked to their bedroom.

Laying the sleeping man, Howard pulled the covers over him and smiled down at him. He was watching for more than ten minutes. Eventually, he ran a hand through Vince's silken locks and turned to creep out. The nightlight they had bought shone brightly in the darkness, making Vince smile in his sleep.

**There you are! It would have been up sooner, but my Internet went real dodgy :s  
Reviews are loved by me and my minions (They make cakes, so if you get in with them...)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Love to the people who reviewed. You make my day :) Hopefully you'll find the ensuing chapters just as adorable :p  
Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it?  
Have a ball...**

"Howard"  
"Howard"  
_"HOWARD!"_

Howard awoke with a small grunt to find a pair of big blue eyes staring tearfully into his own. Sitting up, he noticed that Vince was drawing ragged breaths and tears were pouring down his cheeks.

"Hey, calm down! Vince, what's wrong?" He started making soothing noises in the other man's ear. Vince flung his arms round Howard's neck and let out great gasping sobs, he was practically wailing as Howard's hand made it's way towards his back and started rubbing it in a calming circular fashion.

"Come on Vince, tell me," the other man continued to cry as Howard tried to coax the answer out of him, "I can't help if you don't tell me". Eventually, Vince drew enough breath together to wail,

"I...had...a...nightmare" In each gap Vince drew breath, leaving Howard to be amazed that because of a jelly, his friend was left in pieces after something as trivial as a nightmare.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Vince shook his head, which was at that moment stuffed into Howard's neck, leaving huge damp patches in his beige pyjamas where the tears soaked through. He glanced at the clock in their bedroom that 'older' Vince had customized when they first moved in and saw, through the glitter and pen, that it was

"_Half one? Half... half one?"_

Howard was stuttering. A man of action needs sleep, and he was being denied that by a wailing 'three year old'. He looked at Vince, his eyes wide. Vince could see the fury in his eyes and shrunk away, rubbing at his eyes trying, and failing, to stop more tears. He didn't know why Howard was so unhappy. Was it his fault? Maybe it wasn't, maybe he had had a nightmare as well? Vince was trying as hard as he could to find _any _scenario that didn't involve him as to why Howard was angry. He honestly couldn't bear the thought of Howard being mad at him. He trusted him more than anyone else in the world. Finally plucking up the courage, Vince asked shyly,

"Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?" Howard looked down and his heart was wracked with guilt, as he saw Vince absolutely petrified he had done something bad.

"No Vince, I'm just a bit tired. What about you? Are you tired?" Vince looked relieved, and thought hard for a moment before saying boldly

"No" Howard rolled his eyes

"Well, do you want to talk about your nightmare, or go back to sleep?" Vince's eyes grew large and he shook his head fearfully. Sighing Howard got up to find that book, hoping to get Vince back to sleep. However, as he went to get it, an idea sparked up in his head and he smiled. If that didn't work, nothing would.

"Hey Vince, how about a drink then?" Vince nodded,

"What can I have?"

"How about some warm milk?" Vince pulled a face, but Howard could see he wasn't really up for arguing, so he just nodded and went to the kitchen. He looked through the cabinets, he was sure that somewhere...ah there it was. Naboo had kept the bottles from when they both had drank the water in there. He heated up the milk in the bottle and hurried back to the bedroom, finding Vince slumped over the various pillows he had made a den out of the previous evening.

"Not tired eh?" Howard muttered, half to himself. Vince mumbled something and tried to drag himself off the cushions. "Here you go little man, drink some of this" Howard said soothingly. Vince took the bottle and started sucking as if his life depended on it. Howard grinned as Vince almost downed it in one. He finally finished it and simply dropped the bottle on the floor. Howard patted him on the back, and tucked Vince back under the covers. Vince muttered something sleepily and grabbed at Howard's hand. Although he was extremely close to sleep, he refused to let go, and Howard had to make do and sleep on the floor, with one arm wrapped over Vince. Mostly because Vince wouldn't let go, but a tiny bit of him wanted to stay and watch over the smaller man. He fell asleep gazing at Vince's face, and listening to the little murmurings he made when sleeping.

--

"HOWARD!!" The man whose name was being screamed to the heavens opened his eyes. He groaned as he rolled over, trying to restrain himself from picking Vince up and shoving his head through a wall. The only thing that calmed was that this time he was woken up, it was light outside and, he looked at the clock again, quarter past nine.

He pushed himself up and remembered he had fallen asleep on the floor. He could hear the screaming man in the living room. Wasting no time, he leapt up and ran out to find him. Vince was sat cross legged on the living room floor, screaming. He was bright red and didn't stop to draw breath. Howard started panicking and rushed over, pulling Vince up and asking urgently,

"What is it Vince? Have you hurt yourself?" He pushed a worried hand threw Vince's hair and stopped when he felt an enormous lump on his friend's head.

"Did you hit your head?" He asked, sympathetically. He got a miserable nod and then another scream.

"It hurts!!"

"I'm sure it does Vince, but you need to calm down, ok?" He hugged Vince in what seemed like the longest hug he'd ever given someone. Eventually, Vince calmed, but kept rubbing his head and occasionally let out a sob. Howard sat in front of him and said,

"Now, how about I get you a shiny plaster for that lump on your head?" This made Vince grin and all thoughts of the pain vanished as Howard came back with a huge, bright blue glittery plaster. Sticking it on Vince's head, he got pulled into another hug as Vince's arms wrapped themselves tightly around his middle.

"Thank you Howard" He looked down to see a face that looked like it had been given the moon **(A/N here is where a cool quote from the moon would go, but I can't quote the moon) **

"It was no problem"

"Yeah, but you made it better!"

Howard smiled at his friend, and for the first time since Vince had eaten that jelly, didn't mind at all that Naboo was taking so long.

**There ya go! Again, slightly run through :s and I think I kinda babbled, cause I didn't have a story line :) Also, sorry if it's shorter, hope nobody minds :)  
Lovin' reviews, ya never know, if I get enough I might post that story that I told some people about (No offense, but I can't remember who I told :s) I'm under too much pressure lol :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Wooop! Cheers for all the magnificent and well spelt reviews lol. Seriously, no errors. :p I love you all!  
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of The Mighty Boosh OR Dora the Explorer. But I will one day ;) (just Dora though lol)  
Off we go...**

"_..You can lead the way! Duh-duh-Dora-Duh-duh-duh-Dora…"_

Howard groaned. Vince had gotten bored with most of the toys in the parcel Naboo had left and moaned for a good half an hour until the older man had caved and stuck the telly on, and found… _shudder_, 'Dora The Explorer'. How any self respecting three year old could watch that Howard had no idea. However, Vince was watching avidly, and joining in with any songs, Spanish or when Dora said something pointless like, 'Say how many sticks you can see!'

There was no point trying to get up and do something constructive, however, as Vince was sat on him. He preened a little that Vince always wanted to be with _him_, but it got quite tiresome, especially when the guy was shouting out to Dora.

"_Can you say, largo?"_

"Largo!!"

"Vince, maybe you should shout louder, Dora might not be able to hear you" Howard said sarcastically. Vince turned to look at him and cocked his head to the side.

"Oh. LARGO!!"

_"Muy Bein!" _Vince looked at Howard and his eyes sparkled.

"Thanks Howard! She said 'well done' in Spanish!" Howard laughed and patted him on the back, not pointing out that Dora would have said 'muy bein' even if Vince had shouted "Dora's a transvestite!".

After another five minutes of torture, during which he got hit in the eye as Vince pretended to row a boat, he had had enough and tipped Vince off him.

"Hey!" A disgruntled cry came up from the floor. Howard simply laughed again and said,

"You hungry?" Vince hurriedly got up and ran towards him

"Yeah! What is there?" Howard rifled through the cupboards and had a little think to himself.

"We could have spaghetti, cheese on toast..." He looked round to see Vince had an apalled look on his face "What?"

"We already had that stuff! We can't have it again!" Howard raised an eyebrow

"Is that so? Why not?" Vince just gave him an angry look that suggested Howard was stupid

"You just can't!!" His voice had almost risen to a shout

"Hey, calm down! If you want, we could go out to get something different". Vince gave him that angry/disgusted look and whined

"But I'm hungry NOW!" God he was being difficult today. What was his problem? Looking down, he saw Vince rubbing his eyes and moaning. _Ah._

"I think, you should have a nap" He cringed backwards as Vince's eyes got a fiery look in them

"I'm not tired! I'm hungry!!". He proceeded to sit down cross legged and burst into tears. Gathering him up, Howard rocked him slightly and started humming. He was amazed that a tune came out, rather than scat. Whatever he was doing was calming Vince down. He kept it up as he took Vince into their bedroom and set him down on his (Howard's) bed. Still humming, he combed his hand through Vince's hair. After only three minutes of this, Vince dropped off to sleep, leaving a frazzled Howard to go back into the living room.

--

He sat down tiredly, and started thinking hard. He was sure he could have dealt with this Vince easily. It wasn't as if he didn't act like a child anyway. But then he started thinking harder. Actually, Vince rarely acted like that much of a child anymore. He'd grown much more sarcastic, he wasn't as naive and innocent. Howard was stupid to think that this wouldn't be any different. Of course three year olds are childish, but they weren't that far away from babies. They cry, get cranky after no sleep, hell they probably even still wet the bed. _Hell_. When was the last time Vince had declared to the room he needed to use the bathroom?

Howard had to move fast. Forgetting how embarrassing it would be to wake his best friend up to use the toilet would be, he literally ran to the bedroom, only to find Vince sitting bolt upright on the bed, twisting the corners of the duvet cover and looking very sheepish. _Of dear god, please don't say he has... _

"Vince? Are...are you ok?" Vince looked away but Howard saw him biting his lip. "Hey little man, have you...erm...y'know..." His sentance was left hanging as he gazed at Vince. The younger man looked up at Howard apologetically and was bright red.

"I'm sorry Howard!! I was going to go, I swear, but then I fell asleep..." He looked down once more, and Howard started cursing himself. One, because he made Vince go to bed, Two, because Vince felt the need to apologize and Three, Oh God, he'd left Vince on _his _bed...

He tried to pull himself together. Vince needed him right now, and he couldn't go off one_. Oh God, they were his best sheets_...

--

Half an hour later he had Vince bathed and changed, the sheets washed and changed (He was getting better at this, straight in the bath, no messing about) and was now patting himself on the back, sat on the sofa. Vince was again sat on the floor, this time playing extremely quietly with some lego. Apparently he wanted to make up for what had happened earlier.

The phone rang and the lego peices that weren't attached yet fell to the floor as Vince gave out a terrified squeak.

"Vince relax, it's just the phone" Howard soothed, and reached over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

_"Howard? It's Naboo, look I have to make this quick, because I have to keep tending to this potion"_

"I thought you had a week?"

_"I found this other potion, that works the same, except he won't remember anything. I thought I'd give you a heads up, we should be back tomorrow, but I need you to get something to make it work properly"_

Howard tried to process this information. Vince wouldn't remember anything they'd done together? Still, he mused, at least he wouldn't go through the embarrassment of knowing he'd actually wet himself in front of his best friend.

_"Howard? You better still be there..."_

"I'm here Naboo, that sounds good. What do you need?"

_"Well, don't fly off the handle, but I need some of Vince's blood"_

"What?!"

_"Not right at this minute, but tomorrow, I'm gonna try to get some of his blood, so I'm just warning you"_

"Why did you say you wanted me to get it?"

_"Well, you just think of a way to distract him when I do it. Bollo don't put that one in! Look I'm going to have to go, see you tomorrow"_

Naboo hung up, leaving Howard feeling more lost than ever. How could he tell his three year old best friend that he needed to take some blood? looking at him, sat there cross legged, giggling quietly as he made some kind of car with the bricks, Howard wanted to cry. His parental instincts were kicking in, and his mind was telling him that he couldn't let Naboo hurt his child.

What? Did he just refer to Vince as HIS child? _Relax, _he told himself, _it's just because you're tired, and he's depending on you alot more..._ Still, it would be quite hard to just forget about all this, and go back to treating Vince like before...

**Oooh! It's getting interesting! (Hopefully lol) Hope y'all checked out my other story, it's just a oneshot though. Reviews are given silk cushions to sit on, and fed jammy dodgers :)  
I seriously love you all ;)  
x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hiya guys Ta for reviews :) They're being given jammy dodgers as we speak...  
Disclaimer: None of this is in any way, shape or form mine.  
Without further ado...**

It wasn't good to get so attached to the three year old version of his best friend, Howard thought, watching Vince try to build a castle with different coloured blocks. He had to snap out of it, and just think every time before he said or did anything. _It won't be long before Naboo comes back, then you can easily go back to how it was before._

Who was he kidding? After this, he would never look at Vince in the same way again. He would no longer be the annoying electro/punk/goth, whatever the hell he decided to flick to, he would be the cute little boy that Howard had been looking after for the last couple of days. He let out a huge sigh. Vince picked up on this and turned his head.

"Are you ok Howard? D'you wanna help me with my castle?" His eyes were shining and he looked extremely happy with himself, as if this was the best thing in the world. And it probably seemed like it, Howard mused, toys and sweets are three year old Vince's world. _And me. _He added as an afterthought. _He wants to be with me all the time. _This gave him a very odd feeling. He honestly didn't know whether or not to be sad or happy at this.

He gave Vince a small smile and knelt down to help him.

"You can use the blue blocks!" Vince shoved a pile of blue bricks into Howard's lap, "And I'll use, umm, oh! I wanna use the yellows!" Howard shook his head fondly, and asked Vince,

"How big is this castle going to be?"

"Erm...THIS big!" He held out his arms as if asking for a hug, showing off the size of his desired castle.

Howard chuckled slightly and said, "I don't think that's possible somehow little man". Vince just gave him a 'We'll see' look and proceeded to stack block upon block up, but making sure the order was consistently blue then yellow.

--

When asked if he wanted to help with the castle, Howard assumed he would have a more, well...any type of role in it's construction. So far, Vince had asked for the blocks when needed, with Howard knelt down beside him. After a while, the younger man decided that Howard was too slow to do this job, so was really just making this castle by himself. However, Howard was happy to just sit there and watch him, smiling as Vince sometimes frowned when he found bits that were uneven or out of place.

The castle was almost complete (And Howard had to say that it was almost the size Vince had wanted it to be) when there was a tremendous knock on the door. Howard shot a quick 'stay there' glance at Vince and went down into the shop, cautiously, to see Leroy at the door, fag in one hand, bottle of _something _in the other. Howard rolled his eyes and went to open the door.

"Alright Howard! Vince around? I need his advice. Met these real fit lasses right? And..." Howard stopped him by holding up his hand.

"Sorry Leroy, he's erm... he went out, actually, you just missed him. Yeah he's probably going to be out for at least , 5 or 6 hours.." Leroy started laughing,

"What did he do, get back in through the window? He's just there!"

Howard whipped round to see Vince stood half way down the stairs, still holding some building blocks. His heart started beating extra fast and he thought quickly, but nothing came to mind.

"Alright Vince? You cheeky bugger, you told Howard you'd gone out!" He pushed past Howard and made his drunken way towards Vince, "Anyway listen mate, I need some advice. Went to Camden right, got absolutely bladdered, then I met these steaming girls yeah?"

Vince was looking down at Howard with a terrified look on his face. He had no idea what this man was on about, he just wanted to go back upstairs, with Howard, and start playing again. After all, he was sure they had both been having a whale of a time.

"Erm actually Leroy, Vince is with a girl at the moment, so erm... you might want to go" Howard stuttered, saying the first thing that came into his head.

"I get it mate, I'll come another time. Mind you, she kinda kinky?" He motioned at the blocks Vince was still clutching like a security blanket, and went to tug them off him, "What have you been doin' with these then?" He raised an eyebrow suggestively, but backed away in surprise when Vince started yelling, and trying to snatch at the blocks that taken.

"Give them back! Howard! He won't give them back!" Leroy looked over at Howard for help and got a shaky grin.

"Just give them back Leroy, he's er..." Howard spotted the bottle in Leroy's hand, "He's really drunk" He widened his eyes as he said this, and Leroy looked a bit freaked out as he thrust the blocks back into Vince's hands.

"Never mind mate, I'll tell you some other time..."

He stumbled out of the shop, leaving a speechless Howard and a terrified Vince. The scared man looked at Howard and whimpered a bit, holding his arms out once more, only this was for a hug. He needed reassurance after being accosted by a scary man. Howard obliged immediately, and gathered him in, running soothing fingers through his hair.

"Howard?" Vince's voice was muffled a bit as his head was squashed against some part of Howard's anatomy.

"Yes little man?"

"Can we go to the park?" Howard pulled Vince off him and looked at him in surprise. He hadn't shown any interest in going out before. Why the sudden change? Either way, he couldn't take him out in public again. Could he? Howard did admit it would do him good, all the fresh air and exercise. Heck, they might even go to a play park, as long as there wasn't anyone else there.

"I suppose so, you might want to get something warm on though" Vince gave him a huge smile and hugged him so hard, they almost fell down the stairs (They were still halfway down them).

**Sorry it's a bit shorter, I didn't have much time.  
Hope everyone was in character, obviously we don't really know what Leroy's like, so I hope I did him justice :p  
Don't forget the jammy dodger rule! I'll even throw one your way if you review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hiyo!! Thanks for reviews as ever ;) Oh yeah, in the last chapter Buttons Magoo made a very good point. Why did Vince not recognise Leroy but recognised Howard? I've finally come up with a good enough excuse, but I could just borrow the one she came up with :P  
He was resisting the power of the water, so he knew him already. Then, when he stopped, Howard was there again, so he just kinda slotted him into it all :s That sounded better in my head. I'll just use Buttons' excuse of, he looked at Howard like a father.  
Ok! enough babbling from me :)  
Disclaimer: I own an extremely elephantine nada.**

Howard shook his head as Vince ran around like a complete lunatic. He had caved in and agreed to take his young friend to the park, not realising that I was still extremely cold outside, so there were icy patches everywhere. He had managed to make Vince stick a coat on, but he was so excited he wouldn't stop moving, making Howard just give up and put a scarf and gloves on himself. It was fortunate, however, that all the sensible people with children decided not to take them to the park, so it was virtually empty. Howard was even considering letting Vince go in the play park, as no-one at all was around.

"Howard!" The older man looked up to find Vince looking up at him in adoration, "Can we please go in the playpark? Look no-one's in there! We'd get everything to ourselves!"

Howard chuckled and patted Vince on the head, enjoying the fact that he could do that without being shouted at to, "Get off my hair!".

"Ok little man, but I think I'll just watch, I'm a bit too old to go on those things". Vince's face drooped, but he was soon smiling again as he realised that he could still go on.

"Cool! Will you push me on the swings Howard?"

--

A few minutes later, Vince was seated on the swings, giggling happily, waiting for his friend to start pushing. Howard kept shooting quick glances around to make sure nobody saw. He wouldn't really mind, but he didn't know what Vince would say if he woke up, not remembering anything, only to have rumors about themselves flying around.

"Howard!! Come on!". The huffy little shout dragged Howard out of his thoughts, as he smiled at Vince and began to push.

"Weeeh!!" Vince shrieked with laughter as he became giddy with the height. "Faster Howard!" He yelled, kicking his legs in an attempt to push himself further. Howard was between two minds. He wanted Vince to have fun, but his parental instincts were thick in his head and he didn't want him to suddenly fly off and hurt himself. Thinking of a way to get Vince off the swings (Howard had never really trusted them anyway) he saw a duck pond, that hadn't yet frozen over, and still had some stupid ducks that were swimming in the cold. He quirked an eyebrow, there was a shop right next to the park.

"Hey Vince, how would you like to feed the ducks?" Vince gave him a glowing smile and nodded.He tried to slow down on the swing, but couldn't, so Howard, trying and failing to keep the smile off his face, gently held the swing until it stopped, well, _swinging_.

--

A moment later they were both stood at the waters edge, Howard keeping Vince back by clutching his coat, and Vince was throwing pieces of bread to the ducks, giggling as each one dived to get more.

"You enjoying yourself little man?" Vince looked up at Howard and grinned

"Can I get closer?" Howard frowned a bit. He didn't see which bit of his brain was making him feel this responsibility for his friend. Anyway, the pond was only maybe, 3 feet deep. If Vince fell in, he wouldn't go very far.

"Yeah, ok" Vince gave him a goofy grin and stepped forward. He was stopped as it seemed like his coat had snagged on something. Looking back he found Howard still clutching his coat like a lifeline.

"Erm, Howard? Can I go a bit more forward?" Howard looked down and realised he was still holding Vince back. He let go with a shaky laugh and blushed lightly.

"Sorry there little man, my hand must have frozen with the cold" Vince giggled a little and waggled his fingers at him. Howard had insisted on his younger friend putting the gloves he had initially worn on. Howard smiled and waggled his own fingers back. Vince, now free of any 'frozen fingers' stepped forwards some more. he leant right over the pond, sprinkling bread crumbs over the surface of the lake.

Howard tried to stop any further pushes of parenting away and gazed around at the frost covered houses and trees. So beautiful, he thought, just as he heard a tremendous splash and turned to find Vince completely submerged in the water. Wasting no time, Howard leapt in after him, forgetting that he could easily have just reached in with his arms. Coldness exploded through him as he reached for Vince and, finding him, dragged him close to his own body and hauled him out of the pond.

"Vince, Vince! Are you ok? Does it hurt anywhere?" Vince coughed, quite alot, but sat up and smiled at his friend.

"I'm ok Howard, its just the duckie quacked and I just jumped, 'cause I didn't see it was going to do it". Howard pulled his friend into a wet hug, before picking him up off the ground, setting him back down on the ground and stated, quite plainly,

"Come on little man we need to get back, you'll catch your death if we don't get you into dry clothes"

--

Driving back, Vince looked over at Howard and grinned cheekily,

"Can we go back and feed the duckies another time?"

"Yes little man, and that's a promise" Vince fell silent for another minute, before adding,

"When I grow up, I wanna live in the park" Howard started shaking with silent laughter, this was such an innocent little statement to make he couldn't help it. Thankfully Vince was looknig at him so he didn't know.

"Can I have some sweets Daddy?" Howard choked and swerved. He pulled over to the side of the road and stared at Vince.

"What?!"

"Can, can I have some sweets...?" Vince's eyes were filling with tears. He had no idea why Howard was suddenly so angry. Something then slotted into his brain, "Is it because I didn't say please?"

"What?"

"Are you angry because I didn't say please?" Howard shook his head, to get the thoughts swirling round his head away. He eventually managed to stammer out,

"No, no little man, I'm not angry, but you can't have sweet right now, ok?" Vince nodded glumly.

How had he not seen this coming? He had been looking after Vince for a couple of days, treating him like his 3 year old son. Of course Vince would just see him as a fatherly figure. When they got back to the flat, Howard was still thinking hard. However, he saw someone in the shop he didn't expect.

"Fossil?!" Oh god no. There was going to be trouble. How Vince would react to Fossil Howard had no idea. It was bad enough when Leroy came.

"What's wrong Daddy?"

Howard froze and didn't know which one to deal with first.

**Tadaa! What's Howard going to do? How is he going to tell a cute little three year old he isn't his daddy? And how's he gonna deal with Vince? Lol :P Reviews are welcomed with angel cake :) Plus sorry its short again! I love everyone **


	9. Chapter 9

**Again, cheers for the lovely reviews :P And just sos the rest of you know, I wasn't _mocking _Dora in the earlier chapter, I was just showing my distaste for her... But if I ever write anything like that again, I'll _mock '_Blues Clues' :P. Btw, sorry if Fossil's lines don't really go, I just have to have him in here somewhere, he owns!  
Ok! Get ready for a bit of reading!**

Howard looked over at Vince, to see the younger man looking at him with nothing but trust in his eyes. How could he just say, "For Gods sake Vince, act your age, I am NOT your Dad"? He just couldn't do it. He decided to wait until the got rid of the retard currently dancing in the middle of the shop.

"Fossil, what the hell are you doing here?!" He closed his eyes and moaned as he felt Vince stiffen beside him. The poor guy just thought that every time Howard was angry or sad, it was his fault. He patted Vince's shoulder a bit, and once again turned his attentions to the idiot now trying to pole dance with a broom.

"Hey Moon, I just wanted to look at all your things. Y'know, the pieces of stuff that you give away for money" Howard quirked an eyebrow.

"Our stock?"

"Ooooh! I'm Howard Moon! I know how to use a book with words!" Howard sighed again

"A dictionary?"

"Well, yeah"

Howard rolled his eyes but then stiffened as he felt someone behind him and heard Fossil scream,

"Oh hey Vince, why are you stood behind this tit muncher?" Vince giggled uncertainly

"You said a bad word"

"Ooooh! I'm Vince Noir! I never say no words that get me into trouble!" He stepped forward, as if to push past them both, Howard stepped aside, praying Fossil would leave, but Vince gave a little squeak as the retard walked right into him, so hard that the younger man was pushed right over. Fossil burst out into peals of moronic laughter, but Howard quickly crouched down to find Vince in floods.

"Why'd he do that? I didn't do anything" The hurt and scaredness in his voice left Howard quaking with anger. For the first time, he didn't turn it in on himself and give himself a chinese burn.

"What did you do that for Fossil?"

"Well geez Moon, I don't know, maybe its because I own you!" Cackling, he ran to get out of the shop, with Howard glaring daggers at his back.

"Yeah, you better run! Don't mess with..." He was cut off by a small sob, and knelt down quickly to envelope Vince in a warm hug. He relished the fact he could probably give Vince as many hugs as he wanted, and Vince would happily oblige by hugging back. Soon though, maybe even today Naboo would be back and Vince would no longer be the sweet little boy Howard had gotten used to parenting. Oh. Right.

"Vince, back in the car, you called me- you called me Daddy" Vince looked up at him, his eyes huge and bright. He was confused, Howard could tell.

"Vince, you must realise I'm _not _your Daddy" He said it as gently as possible.

"Sor-sorry, I didn't mean to. Honest. Don't be mad..." Vince trailed off, looknig down at his feet, waiting for a tirade he was sure would come. Howard's heart was wracked with guilt. He put his hands on Vince's shoulders and looked straight into his eyes.

"Hey, I would _never _be angry at you ok? There is _nothing _you could do to make me angry, got it?" Vince sniffed and gave him a small smile, "Come on little man, I'm sure you have bigger and better smiles than that.."

Vince gave him a huge, dazzling smile and thwacked himself into Howard to give him a hug.

"I love you Howard" Howard tried _so _hard not to break down, but some tears escaped him. He sniffed hard and murmered,

"I love you too Vince" He was about to add "Not in a gay way" but was sure that this Vince wouldn't need that. Sweet, innocent little kids don't mean love like that. Plus, Vince would _never _tell Howard that in his normal state.

"You hungry little man?" Howard smiled when Vince looked up at him, tears like diamonds on his cheeks, nodding as if his life depended on it, and they walked, hand in hand, upstairs. But to their surprise, someone was up there waiting for them.

--

"Naboo!" Howard quickly unlatched himself from Vince, who looked thoroughly put out, but looked at Naboo and Bollo with that bright, innocent little smile of curiosity kids seem to possess.

"How precious Vince been after having to stay with Harold all time?"

"Yeah, it's Howard"

"Oh, yeah"

Vince smile up at the gorilla, he seemed nice, plus he called him 'precious', so he couldn't be that bad.

"Hi! Do you wanna play with a jigsaw?" Bollo smiled, as much as a gorilla can, and after a quick glance at Naboo, who smiled a smile that wasn't a stoned one, went with Vince to the table. Naboo sidled up to Howard.

"Hows he been?" He lisped.

"Fine, nothing much has happened really" Naboo eyed him suspiciously and raised an eyebrow

"Then why is he soaking wet? And why are you for that matter?"

"Oh, yeah, he uh, fell into a pond" Howard felt abashed and, glad of an excuse to get away from the watchful shaman, went over to Vince and practically picked him up to take him to the bathroom. Naboo was quite surprised, thinking the young man would bat the other away, but he just giggled a bit and snuggled into Howard.

Hearing splashing and giggling from the bathroom, Naboo took the chance to get the potion out and ready, and told Bollo to be ready to grab Vince. They still needed his blood.

--

Only a couple of minutes later, Vince and Howard emerged, both with huge smiles on their faces. Howard saw Naboo and Bollo's faces, and instantly remembered what they had said about needing his blood. He glanced down quickly at Vince, who hadn't noticed the change of atmosphere, and was about to try the jigsaw again. Naboo gave a slight nod to Bollo, who took this moment to reach over and very easily grab Vince, and hold him close, so he couldn't move a muscle.

At first, Vince thought it was a game and started to laugh. After a few seconds, Naboo took a GIANT needle out and started towards Vince. He stopped laughing at once and started fussing. Naboo had a sad grimace on his face, and Howard realised none of them wanted to do this, but it was the only way. Still, he thought, he did love this Vince...

"Howard!!" Vince was in tears, and struggling as much as he could. It was useless against the huge ape arms, and he soon flopped and meerly started to wail and shriek, his arms flailing underneath Bollo's, trying to find...

Howard leapt in, just before Naboo was going to put the needle in. He whispered,

"Let me just calm him down a bit". Naboo nodded and drew up. Howard went forward and instantly put his arms around Vince, who couldn't hug back properly, so he cried even more. Bollo sighed and released Vince. He leapt onto Howard, hugging him tightly and whispering to him,

"What are they doing Howard? I don't want needles!" Howard's heart almost broke. He kept threading his fingers through Vince's hair.

"It's to, er, make you feel better, they just need some blood" Vince's eyes went big and tears fell once more from them.

"But I'm not _ill_!" Then a thought struck him, and he clutched at Howard even more, "Am I? Am I sick?"

"Well, in a way, but we just need some of your blood. I'll give you loads of sweets after it?" But Vince wasn't listening to the bribery. He wrenched himself free of Howard, and stared at him, aghast.

"What do you mean _we _need some? Are you trying to hurt me as well?" With that, he turned and ran as fast as he could, down the stairs and out of the shop, leaving Howard's stutterings, Bollo's growls, and Naboo's eye rolls far behind.

**Ok, the next chapter is dedicated to Chugirl, who gave me the idea of making Vince run away. You said because Howard got angry and snapped, but I hope you don't mind my way :s Reviews are so cool! What about bakewell tarts? You like them? I gots a lot...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Woo! M'kay, this is, as promised, dedicated to Chugirl2526, who gave me the idea, but (As stated in the previous chapter) is done in a slightly different way. Love and kisses from Noel Fielding and Julian Barret (Am I spelling his name right?) to all the reviewers ;)  
Btw, this doesn't affect the chapter in any way, but all through writing it I had an urge to say 'Congratu-welldone' and had the 'hello little dear' song in my head, which makes a slightly odd combination... (For anyone who doesn't know, it's one of the songs on the radio show :P )  
One last thing before I stop babbling:  
"Listen, you just give us 48 hours, and we'll get the job done. If we weren't so bloody miserable!"  
LOL, I've been watching it on youtube :P**

"Vince!! Vince!!" Howard flung himself out of the flat, but was met with an empty silence as he looked up and down the road, only to find Vince nowhere in sight. He was all set to just run around every street to find his friend, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"Howard listen," Naboo actually looked concerned, instead of his usual calm expression, "I've got to tell you something. If we don't get Vince back soon, and reverse the potion, chances are, we won't be able to reverse it". Howard was horrified, and was still darting glances down the street, even though it was clear Vince wasn't coming back.

"So what do we do?! How do we find him? Isn't there some kind of potion or spell you can use?" Naboo shook his head slightly.

"It took most of my power to make this potion, you're just gonna have to hurry". Howard nodded and ran to get his car keys.

"Remember Howard, you HAVE to find him quickly!".

But this fell on deaf ears as the key was already being turned in the ignition

--

Speeding down the roads, Howard was thinking desperately. Where would Vince go? How would he manage to coax him back? And more importantly, would Vince be ok out there on his own? Howard worried about him enough when he went out drinking, but now, with the mind of a three year old, anything could happen. A series of horrible images ran through Howard's head. Vince getting ran over, Vince being seen by his friends, Vince being offered sweets in a strangers car... Actually, there wasn't much chance of that happening, Howard shook his head, he didn't look like a three year old. Still, he could get seriously hurt if he wasn't found soon. Howard cursed himself as he remembered just sticking Vince in a thin t-shirt and some jeans after that bath. He didn't even have any shoes on. And... yep, _there's _bad luck. Flecks of snow were beginning to appear on the windscreen.

--

Vince shivered violently. After running from the flat, he's taken refuge somewhere were he had so much fun with Howard.

_Howard_

Vince whimpered. He couldn't believe Howard wanted to hurt him. They'd been having fun before that short man and gorilla turned up. It was _their _fault, not Howard's. Howard had given him a hug and tried to make it all better.

Now his feet and hands were going blue and numb with the cold...

--

Howard drove around, going back down roads in case he missed Vince in his hurry. He had been everywhere he could think of, but hadn't found anything. He knew Vince better than he knew himself. He knew exactly what he bought for his hair, where he wanted to go on holiday the year after next, what he had wanted to do when he was a child...

A small memory came rushing back to him

_"When I grow up, I wanna live in the park..."_

He put the car up to 5th gear. **(A/N I thought you had to use this to go fastest, but apparently you use it when you want to go faster, but 1st isn't fast enough :s It's too confusing for me, so just go with it and don't ask questions ;) )**

--

_It's too cold, I don't like it, I want to go home.._

_To Howard..._

Vince's heart wrenched as he sat on the bench, crying. He didn't mean to run away from Howard. He loved him.

_Howard will come. Soon. He'll come soon_

The mantra in his head kept repeating, over and over, but it wouldn't block out the sobbing or cold.

--

Howard parked the car and leapt out, running as if there was a bear after him. He flung open the park gate, but had to slow down, because there were so many patches of ice. The last thing he needed was for him to be taken to hospital while Vince was still out there somewhere. He veered off to the right, in the direction of the play park. It was getting quite dark now, as it was nearing Winter, and was really cold, so there was absolutely no-one there. Except one person.

"Vince!!" Vince jerked up at the sound of his friend's voice. He was too cold to move, and his eyes hurt from crying. The tears that he had shed had frozen down his face and the same had happened when his nose had run.

"H-howard!" It was barely a whisper but Howard caught it. Sweeping the younger man up in his arms he just clung onto him, willing all of his energy and heat to transfer into Vince. Running finger's through his hair, Howard was almost crying, shushing Vince and rocking him slightly.

"It's ok now little man, there there, sshhhh, it's going to be ok". And Vince believed him.

--

Getting back to the flat had been easy. Howard merely seated Vince in the passenger seat, put a blanket over him, and strapped his seatbelt on. But leaning over the younger man to fasten it, he had arms around his neck and Vince sobbing into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Howard! I didn't mean to run off, but the n-needle..." He broke into even more tears, and Howard could do little but hug back, and whisper soothingly,

"No Vince, don't you ever be sorry. It was my fault not yours. Do you understand?" Vince nodded and sniffed. Howard smiled for what seemed like the first time in weeks and went round to his side of the car.

--

"Naboo? I've found him! But he's really cold and scared, so we should sort him out first" Naboo ran downstairs, batting away the fumes of the hookah he and Bollo had no doubt just finished off. On seeing them, his face broke out into a relieved smile and he ordered various people about at top speed.

"Right Howard, give him another bath, the just dress him in his pyjamas. Bollo bring the potion back up to the flat, then if he hasn't calmed down after the bath, pull funny faces or something".

Both man and animal just shook their heads and set about the jobs they were given.

--

"Naboo? He's ready. He's really sleepy as well, so I don't think he'll struggle as much, but still, he is going to make a fuss when he sees that needle" Howard muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Naboo, as Vince trudged into the room, rubbing his eyes, looking just too cute. Howard gave Naboo a small wink and nod, and went to sit on the sofa.

"Vince? Come over here a minute" Vince walked over to where Howard sat and immediately snuggled up on his lap. He was sat facing Howard's chest, with his legs curled round the older man's stomach, so that they wrapped up on his back. Howard smiled as he looked down to see Vince's thumb once again creeping towards his mouth. He put his arms around him and rocked gently, from side to side.

Naboo took this chance to once again approach with a giant needle. He pushed Vince's sleeve up and squirted some iodine **(A/N I think it's iodine. Again, as with the car gears, just go with it :P)**on the top of his arm. Vince jumped a little at the sudden cold liquid making contact with his arm, and looked around. His eyes foucosed on the needle and went wide. Howard pulled his head away and nestle it into his chest.

"Vince, listen to me. Do you trust me?" He asked the question in such a serious tone that Vince looked up in amazement, forgetting the needle for a moment. He nodded yes, at which Howard exhaled happily and said,

"Well you need to have this needle in you, ok? It'll feel like a small scratch, but it won't be for very long, and if you think it hurts, just squeeze my hand ok?" Vince's eyes started watering but he nodded again. Howard smiled at him and put his hand in Vince's. Naboo stepped forward again, this time managing to get the needle into the man's skin. Vince squeezed and looked up fearfully at Howard.

"It hurts Daddy" He whined, but as Naboo looked up in amazement, Howard just shushed him and said,

"I know, don't worry, it's over now". Naboo took the needle out, a satisfactory amount of blood in it, and quickly bore it over to the potion. Howard rocked Vince some more and gave him a beautiful smile.

"Well done Vince, you were a really big boy" Vince smiled at him and sniffed some more.

"Vince?" Naboo came back with a cup full of what looked like warm milk, "Drink this, it'll make you pretty tired, but just go with it". Vince looked over at Howard uneasily and got a shaky smile back. He was never going to see this side of Vince again. Sure, he was childish sometimes, but not in this amount, not enough to make him this cute. Howard gave him one last hug, one last hand through his hair, and murmured,

"Drink it all little man, and I'll see you in the morning" As Vince became sleepy, Howard carried him into his bed and tucked the covers over him, making sure the night light was on. He smiled at the man curled up under the covers, sighing slightly, his whole face illuminated under the starry, October sky, and a solitary tear ran down his cheek.

**Aww! Don't worry, I'm determined that this story should have a happy ending :) Please review, it'll make Howard feel better...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Last Chapter! I just wanna send out a huge thanks and a hug to everyone who ever reviewed, gave me an idea, corrected me or even read the flipping thing! I hope this ending is happy enough for you all :P I honestly don't know what to do now :( Anyone got any requests for new stories?  
Disclaimer: Last one. Not mine. Fielding and Barratt own all (Well obviously not EVERYTHING but you get the meaning)  
I seriously love you all! And I have the song 'So Close' by John Mclaughlin in my head :) It's a beautiful song, so check it out!  
One more thing, sorry this took SO long, but the chapter fought me all the way...**

Howard sat at the table, at half past seven in the morning. He was tapping his spoon anxiously on his bowl of soggy, half eaten cereal, and kept stealing glances at the clock. He kept stiffening whenever he heard someone behind him, but it was always either Bollo or Naboo, trying to find things to make resolves with (After Vince was put to bed they had celebrated their success). _Just be calm, _Howard thought, _it'll be fine, you'll easily slip back into how it was before. _Who was he kidding? He'd probably try and wake Vince up with a hug or something.

"Howard?" Nabooslouched into the kitchen, "Has Vince woken up yet?" Howard shook his head

"Ok, I just want to lay down some rules right?" Howard looked at Naboo, startled, but nodded again, "Right. You can't say anything to Vince about this ok?". Howard nodded again. "Also, I know it's kind of hard for you to pretend that nothing happened, but you have to try not to do anything stupid, like speak in all that 'cootchie coo' crap"

"Naboo, I didn't speak to him like that anyway. It'll be fine alright?" Naboo gave a slight sympathetic smile and looked at the clock.

"You should probably open the shop, me and Bollo have got some stuff we need to do. Go and wake Vince up"

"Couldn't we give him a couple more hours?" Howard asked. Naboo's face was stony **(A/N not in the stoned sense, in case you were wondering, I just couldn't think of a better word)**, so he just sighed and nodded some more.

--

Howard poked his head around the bedroom door, and saw Vince curled up under his duvet. He looked even smaller and more vulnerable than when he thought he was three. He smiled and started forward, wondering how to wake him up. He stopped and shook his head. _Don't be an idiot Howard _he thought, _just go and wake him up. You have done plenty of times before remember? _He sighed and just walked straight over to Vince and shook his shoulder gently.

"Vince?" Said sleeping man moaned softly and closed his eyes tighter, "Vince, come on now, you have to get up".

Vince opened his eyes blearily from sleep and looked up to see Howard smiling at him. This was odd. Normally when Howard woke him up, it was either a kick up the backside or just have the cover ripped off.

"C'mon Howard, five more minutes" He turned over, but felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"No. Now. Come on". Vince stubbornly pulled the covers over his head, smiling slightly. When Howard was in a good mood like now, he sometimes...

"Am I going to have to tickle you?"

Yes.

Howard smiled. He bent over Vince, and tore the covers off Vince. Normally, even if he did start to tickle him, which was hardly ever, he wouldn't dare do that for fear Vince was wearing his most revealing pyjamas, but Howard had actually dressed him in the ones he was wearing now, so he knew it was ok.

Howard merclessly started tickling Vince, grinning at the childish giggles that errupted from his friend. Vince tried to shield his ribs from the onslaught, but was unsuccessful.

"How-Howard!! Stop! I'll g-get up!"

Howard smiled

"Fine, I'll meet you in the shop in ten minutes". Vince stuck his tongue out sulkily at him.

--

Howard tapped his feet anxiously against the floor, sat on the stool behind the counter, and waited for Vince to appear. Naboo had left early on, and gave Howard a significant look.

When Vince did show up, he looked rather pale, and flopped down onto his seat and flipped open a magazine without much enthusiasm. Howard frowned slightly.

"You ok little man?" Vince smiled up at him (And Howard noted it was that smile he had gotten so much of the last couple of days, a completely trusting one)

"Yeah, I've just got a _really _bad headache. Did we go drinkin' last night? It's just, I can't really remember much, so did we get really drunk?" He tailed off, leaving Howard smiling slightly. He had been thinking all morning of an excuse as to why Vince wouldn't really remember anything, and he had missed an obvious one.

"Er, yeah, Bollo got a really good DJing gig, so we were there all night, just knocking the drinks back" He wasn't sure Vince would buy this, as it was well known that Howard Moon never got drunk, as a man of action you need a clear head, but Vince just grinned and said,

"Genius, where was it?" Howard panicked for a moment, but stopped frantically thinking up club names when some of Vince's friends came crashing through the door.

"Alright Vince! 'Aven't seen you lately!" Vince grinned at them, but Howard could tell it hurt him to do that.

"Yeah, we had a wild night out and got absolutely plastered" His friends cheered and clapped, and Howard noticed that Vince flinched and rubbed his temples, becoming even more pale as the loud noises spurred on his headache.

"Ok, if you don't mind, we've got a lot of stock taking to do, so you'll have to leave" Howard told the group of men forcefully, and after a few laughs and muttered insults thrown in his direction, he finally got them to leave.

He turned to see Vince groaning slightly, massaging his head, not caring that he was messing his hair up. Howard's parental instincts consumed him, and he swept up to Vince.

"Come on little man, I think we have some paracetamol in the medicine cabinet" He was about to pull Vince up by holding his hand, but mentally shook himself and settled for a wrist instead.

He gave the younger man a glass of water, and smiled as Vince swallowed the whole spoonful of medicine in one and shuddered..

"Good boy"

"What?" Howard paled. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Erm, what?" Howard said back. Vince frowned, looking puzzled.

"I, I thought you said something..." Howard hated lying to his best friend, but sometimes it was necessary. He cocked an eyebrow.

"No. Are you feeling ok?" Vince nodded.

"Can we go out somewhere Howard? I mean, it's not as if anyones gonna come into the shop are they?" Howard sniffed and raised his head a bit.

"You may mock Vince, but I think we'll be seeing more customers any day now" Vince rolled his eyes, and Howard heard him mutter "Whatever" under his breath. Maybe it would be good to get some fresh air, especially for Vince, who looked in need of some good, cold breezes.

"Ok, but remember how cold it is outside?" Vince again looked puzzled, as Howard remembered that Vince hadn't been to the park to feed the ducks, or gone into the town with him.

"Well, it is, so wrap up". Vince nodded, a grin plastered on his face

"Cheers Howard"

--

They were out for less than half an hour before Howard almost made another big mistake. Walking past the Velvet Onion, Vince saw a few of his mates (Although Howard noted they weren't the ones who came to the shop) and, though he didn't really want to stop on his walk with his friend, he exchanged a few words with them.

Howard waited patiently behind Vince, but then heard one of the younger man's friends remark,

"Hey Vince, is that your Dad?" he stepped a little closer to hear Vince laugh it off, but say bye to them, sounding rather annoyed. He turned around and gave Howard a look that said to follow him. He did so, and they walked in a slightly uncomfortable silence for a while, before Vince tried to break it by joking,

"Isn't it funny how everyone thinks that? Ha, imagine if you were my Dad? Ha, Daddy, over here!" Howard just stared at Vince, hearing those words fall out of his mouth again making Howard feel like he wanted to cry. Why was it so difficult for him to get over this?

"Er, why don't we go down to the park" Vince was slightly uneasy at the fact that Howard hadn't replied, and seemed to be deep in thought. The older man shook his head and broke out of his reverie.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea" Vince shook his head at the way his friend sank back into his deep thinking. He didn't believe in deep thinking. Hurts your brain. Whilst thinking these thoughts, he failed to see a huge patch of ice stretching across the pavement.

All Howard heard was a crash, and a cry of 'Shit!" as Vince went sprawling down onto the pavement, cracking his head off the side of a bench and hitting his knee pretty hard on the ground.

He spun around to find his young friend groaning slightly, and all his senses went on high alert. He was unaware of how much he was panicking, as he hurried over to Vince and carefully checked him over for broken bones or any sign of concussion. Vince struggled to focus on his friend, and when Howard did a quick sweep of his head, he found an enormous lump protruding on the side of it.

"You've gone to town here little man" Howard murmured, now checking Vince's knee. Vince just looked up at Howard. These events seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't for the life of him think why. Howard found the knee to be just badly grazed, and focused his attentions on the slightly slurred quality of Vince's voice as he asked,

"Is it ok Howard?". As well as making Howard twinge at the way he said it, full of the sound of concussion, he again sounded completely trusting, like he was really worried, but Howard could make it all better.

"I think you've got concussion Vince, we'd better get back". He hauled Vince to his feet, worrying some more when the younger man swayed a bit as he tried to regain his composure.

"I'm gettin' kinda tired Howard..." Howard looked sideways at Vince, who by this time was slung over Howard's shoulders so that he wouldn't fall over. The older man gave him a kind smile, and said,

"Don't worry, you can go to bed when we get back". As soon as he'd said this he regretted it, because he rembered reading somewhere that people with concussion should NEVER go to sleep. He couldn't remember why, but he knew it wouldn't be good. Still, Vince was reassured for now, and he tried to walk with his friend, towards the shop.

--

"Hey Howard?"

"Yes little man?"

By this time, they were both sat on the sofa in the flat, Vince with a cup of hot chocolate, and Howard with some tea and a medical book (He still couldn't find why you couldn't sleep with concussion damnit!). Vince had been shaking slightly as they returned, so Howard made him change into the comfiest things he had, and then when he was sat on the sofa, draped a quilt of him.

"When I was, y'know, hungover, were you loking after me?" Howard's insides dropped like bricks.

"What?!"

"It's just, I've been gettin' kinda like, flashes of memories all day, if that makes sense, and you were there, and we were just like this, but I felt much more, I dunno, sort of, _peaceful. _And we were sat like this..."

Vince put his mug down and shuffled onto Howard, so he sat on his knee. He gave him a worn out smile, and brought the quilt over with him, so he could have dropped off to sleep right there. Howard didn't have a clue what to do. He couldn't throw him off, what with the concussion, but he couldn't exactly keep him on, could he?

Vince yawned, bringing Howard back to his senses.

"I'm really tired..." His voice was slurry due to sleepiness and concussion, but he sounded so cute, Howard just said,

"Right, fine, just sleep Vince". Vince muttered something that might have sounded incoherent to other people in the room (Which there weren't) but Howard understood it perfectly, and, just before replying, had a tiny think to himself.

He didn't think he would ever get over that cute little boy he looked after for a short while, but Vince seemes better after it. They hadn't had a single argument all day, and he was being just as cute in moments like these. If things like this happened, not very often, just sometimes, Howard thought he'd get through it. He knew he would have to keep those parental nudges under control, but he would manage that, in time. He smiled down at the now sleeping Vince in his lap, and replyed to his friend's earlier incoherent statement.

"Don't worry little man, I'll be right here when you wake up"

**OMG! Has she just finished a fic? I think she has ladies and gentlemen! Jebus, I don't know what to do with myself now... Hope the ending didn't disappoint, sorry if it did :s Any requests for future fics? I love everyone who reviews or did review. Plus, I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes, or mistakes with things like the symptoms of concussion. A girl can only guess. **


End file.
